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May 22, 2007 : Fagus grandifolia
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Keywords: Fagaceae | Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. | Hortulus Farm Nursery & Gardens, Wrightstown, Pennsylvania, USA
Today's written entry is courtesy of Raakel Toppila. Raakel is a summer student working with UBC Botanical Garden's plant collections. – Daniel
Today's photographs are courtesy of fancymefoxy@Flickr (original image 1 | original image 2 | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!
The American beech can be found throughout the forests of eastern North American among sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (Acer rubrum), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and American basswood (Tilia americana). Together, they create a stunning fall colour display, characteristic of the eastern deciduous forests. The American beech’s stark, light grey bark and buttressing base is easy to spot in the forests throughout the year, or from the road while practicing high-speed botany.
The thin, grey bark is no match for numerous insects, which pierce and suck sap from the trees. Small, woolly beech scale can be found feeding on the sap of the tree in some regions. The insect was introduced to North American in the late 1800s. Damage done by the scale makes the tree susceptible to fungi in the genus Nectria. Together, these minute organisms can be deadly for a large American beech (see beech bark disease via the USDA Forest Service).
A large “mother” tree can often be found amongst a thicket of smaller beech trees, which have arisen from root suckers. Offspring also arise from seeds, which provide food for deer, bears, squirrels and chipmunks. Beech nuts can also be roasted for human consumption (see this thread on the UBC BG forums).
For additional information, please visit Fagus grandifolia in the Silvics of North America.
Interested in beeches? Talk about them in the beeches discussion forum.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at May 22, 2007 12:00 AM
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Comments
Posted by: bev at May 22, 2007 5:38 AM
Fagus grandifolia - Z4 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Fagus grandifolia - Z3-9 - A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk
Posted by: Beverley at May 22, 2007 7:31 AM
I remember my grandmother in Iowa telling me about the beech tree disease and showing me the dead ones on her farm--she was mournful about it, and now I can see why. Have these beautiful trees seen a comeback?
Posted by: Allison Kendrick at May 22, 2007 11:14 AM
I celebrate seing healthy trees like these ones and mourn when someone has taken the liberty in carving their initials on it's bark for the damage they cause when they do that.
Nevertheless, this is a glorious photograph, beautifully composed. The exposure renders inviting tones - typical of the Carolinian forests. The trunk, at the base, reminds me of ostrich feet.
Posted by: Aida at May 22, 2007 7:40 PM
Nice specimens!
I'd not care to try to distinguish them from European Beech (F. sylvatica) "from the road while practicing high-speed botany"!
The most useful distinction may be those root sprouts, as European Beech doesn't produce them. Don't know about other species of beech, whether they do or not.
Posted by: Michael F at May 23, 2007 1:51 AM
I live in suburban Atlanta in a small pocket of sloped and rocky forest where the dominant trees are these beeches. Growing up, they impressed me beyond belief. Some on my property are big enough to fit three arm-lengths around them.
Posted by: Amanda at July 27, 2007 9:25 AM
Michael, I didn't see root sprouts on Oriental Beech forests in the 'Starry Mountains' (Yildiz Daglari) of NW Turkey
Posted by: Rupert R at May 7, 2009 1:34 PM
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Wow, what beautiful photos; thank you! While I never wanted one in my yard since they're frustrating to garden under (dry and heavy shade), these are spectacular trees to view in the woods. The temptation to carve one's initials on them, however, seems irresistible so it can be hard to find a pristine one in the suburban patches of forest.